Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 184 Military Law?

Chapter 184 Military Law? (Two in One)

"So the most important thing is to completely wipe out all the resistance forces in China as quickly as possible and force the central government to sign the surrender document!"

"This is the most basic combat strategy of the base camp at the moment!"

Terauchi Juichi calmly explained the situation.

The officials who can enter the cabinet are not fools. They know better than anyone that once the imperial army is stuck in the quagmire of a protracted war, it will cost a lot to pull it out.

Currently, most of the country’s major supplies need to be supplied by the United States, which is greatly restricted.

No one can predict what changes will occur in the current international situation. If something unexpected happens, the empire has invested so much manpower and material resources in China at one time that it would be impossible to withdraw in a short period of time.

The war must be resolved quickly.

Naosaburo Okabe: "I have visited the Yellow River and found that the river water contains a lot of sand. Once it breaks its banks, it will form a large flood zone, which will be a hassle to deal with later."

The purpose of the empire's occupation of China was ultimately to plunder its resources.

Blowing up the Yellow River dike now would only bring endless trouble to ourselves.

"None of this matters!" Terauchi Shouichi snorted coldly, "As long as we can annihilate all the Chinese elites, these problems are within our tolerance range!"

"Then again, this is only the last resort. If the battle on the front line goes smoothly, we don't need to blow up the Yellow River dike."

Okabe Naosaburo bowed: "Hai!"

"I'll go urge the 14th Division again!"

Terauchi Shou nodded: "How is Puyang?"

Okabe Naosaburo: "General Nishio Toshizo has sent troops to support us, and the situation is now stabilizing!"

"but."

Terauchi Shouichi waved his hand: "But what?"

Okabe Naosaburo looked at the large poster on the wall: "According to my observation, the Chinese army's attack on Puyang is just a feint. Its purpose is to attract our attention and ensure that the battle of Lanfeng can proceed smoothly!"

Terauchi Shouichi thought for a moment and said, "Yoshi!"

"You have a point."

"The invading force has a total of two divisions and has been lingering outside Puyang City for half a month. Their intentions are too obvious!"

Okabe Naosaburo: "Sir, do you still need to send more reinforcements?"

Terauchi Juichi was a little hesitant.

Currently, all the military forces in North China, except for Kozuki Seiji's Second Army, are gathering towards Lanfeng and the Longhai Line.

Sending more troops to Puyang at this time will inevitably lead to a shortage of troops in the main battle zone.

Although the headquarters issued an order to blow up the Yellow River embankment when the opportunity arose, he did not want to do so directly.

Still want to give it a try.

We cannot just hand over the credit for conquering Wuhan to Hata Shunroku.

But if we stop sending more troops, the risk will be great.

Although most Chinese commanders are good-for-nothings, there are also some smart ones.

Especially Wang Feng.

The two divisions that attacked Puyang were his troops.

Once it is discovered that Puyang is empty, it is very likely that the troops will be ordered to make a feint attack and then turn to the main attack.

Puyang is the rear base, and if it is lost, it will also affect the battle situation in the front.

When Terauchi Juichi was trying to decide, Okabe Naosaburo came up with a good idea: "Sir, perhaps we can choose another way to reinforce Puyang."

Terauchi Juichi raised an eyebrow: "Another way?"

Okabe Naosaburo: "There's an old saying in Chinese military strategy: Besiege Wei to save Zhao!"

"The two Chinese divisions that besieged Puyang came from Changzhi. They were the local garrison troops. They are coming out in full force this time, so the rear must be empty!"

"We can command the First Army."

Terauchi Juichi's frown gradually relaxed: "Yoshi!"

"Saburo, it seems that you know more about Chinese military tactics than Doihara!"

Listening to the chief of staff's plan, he seemed to see greater achievements beckoning to him.

In the headquarters' view, as long as this resistance force could be eliminated, the difficulty of completely occupying China would be reduced by at least half.

The reason why the garrison fought so bravely and was so difficult to deal with was largely due to the high-performance domestically produced weapons.

When the two armies fought, some weapons inevitably fell into the hands of the empire.

Even he couldn't help but marvel at the sophistication of the Type 27 rifle.

The first rifles, light and heavy machine guns seized have been sent back to domestic military factories for reverse research.

According to the intelligence information currently available, the Federal Garrison Army has only one jurisdiction, and that is Changzhi!
As long as we can determine the coordinates of the military factory, successfully occupy it, and search for the weapon blueprints from it, it will definitely be a great achievement.

In fact, he had issued relevant orders a long time ago.

But Katsuki Seiji's First Army was not willing to put too much effort into this aspect.

They often use the stubborn resistance of the Eighth Route Army's guerrillas behind enemy lines, Yan Laoxi in southern Shanxi, and the remnants of Wei Lihuang as an excuse.

I will never send troops to Changzhi.

"Kazuki is definitely responsible for the expansion of the Federal Provincial Garrison Army!" Thinking of this, Terauchi Hisaichi muttered softly, then turned his head to look at Okabe Naosaburo.

"You must immediately formulate a battle plan. I want to see it tonight." Terauchi Hisaichi glanced at his watch. "Five more hours!"

Okabe Naosaburo bowed quickly: "Hai!"

------

5 month 21 day.

One p.m.

In the bumpy jeep, Zhao Fangyuan pointed forward: "Sir, the Lanfeng Ferry is ahead!"

"The 4th Battalion of the 1st Column has taken over this place from friendly forces!"

Wang Feng looked in the direction of the finger and saw several officers standing on the side of the road, as if waiting for him.

"parking!"

The jeep slowly stopped.

Wang Feng jumped out of the car and asked: "Which unit are you from?"

As soon as the words came out, the officers immediately stepped forward, stood at attention, and saluted: "Report to the commander!"

"We are from the 71st Army."

Wang Feng adjusted the brim of his hat: "71st Army?"

"Song Xilian's troops?"

An officer replied, “Yes!”

Wang Feng turned his head and looked at the ferry ahead: "What's going on here?"

"Sir, we just took it from the Japanese and you guys came." An officer muttered softly. Although he sounded a little dissatisfied, he looked extremely guilty.

Wang Feng glanced at the other party's military rank.

Colonel.

Judging from his attire, he is probably a group leader!

"Where's Song Xilian?" Wang Feng cleared his throat. "Where is he now?"

It turned out that the friendly forces had just ended the battle and they took over the place right after.

What a coincidence!

It is indeed easy to be misunderstood as coming here to pick peaches.

The colonel who had just spoken replied: "Our commander has crossed the river!"

Wang Feng: "Okay!"

"You are the ones who captured this ferry. We are all brothers and should be reasonable. I will not compete with you for the credit."

"After we cross the river, we will return this to you, but I have to say this in advance. If this ferry is lost, you will not be responsible!"

"The 88th Division, is that the 71st Army?"

When the 88th Division was mentioned, several officers lowered their heads, their faces turning red and white.

"Don't worry, sir. We still have more than 2,000 brothers. Even if all of them die, we can't let the Japanese seize the ferry!"

"Correct!"

"Please rest assured, sir. We in the 87th Division have never been afraid of the devils. Back in Shanghai, I personally carried a pack of explosives and got a tank!"

Wang Feng: "Are you all veterans from Songhu?"

Several officers responded in unison.

Wang Feng: "The 71st Army is indeed worthy of its reputation!"

In his impression, this army has been highly valued since its establishment, and is even called Chiang Kai-shek's "Imperial Guard".

I never expected that in such an army, there would be a coward like Long Muhan.

The colonel who had just answered the question said, "Sir, actually, Division Commander Long..."

Wang Feng was a little surprised: "What happened to Long Muhan?"

"Keep talking!"

The colonel stopped talking halfway, acting very awkwardly and looking around.

Wang Feng understood what he meant and waved to Zhao Fangyuan.

"Everyone here is my person, you can say whatever you want!"

The colonel gritted his teeth and blurted out what was on his mind in one breath: "Sir, I have heard of you, General Bai Ma, you are unparalleled in bravery, and several of us brothers believe in you!"

Several lieutenant colonels on the side nodded hurriedly: "Yes!"

"You're right!"

The colonel continued, "In fact, when we were defending Lanfeng, our regiment was specially assigned to serve as a reserve force for the 88th Division."

"The main force defending the city at that time was the 27th Army, which was Gui Yongqing's troops."

"We and the 88th Division will be under his command for the time being."

When this name was mentioned, Wang Fengneng could clearly feel that the faces of the officers in front of him looked a little ugly.

Is there any injustice involved?

Colonel: "On that day when the Japanese army launched the attack, Gui Yongqing left a note saying "I swear to live and die with Lan Feng" and then led his troops to evacuate, leaving all the defense tasks to us and the 88th Division."

"At that time, including our regiment, there were only more than 3000 people left. Sir, let me be honest, you know the situation. We can't hold on at all!"

Wang Feng nodded.

In the battle report sent over by the Fifth Column, it seemed that this was indeed the case.

The reason why they were able to seize the positions outside the city was partly because the 27th Division held on for a short period of time after the 88th Army withdrew without authorization.

Seeing that Wang Feng had listened, the colonel became more excited: "With such a small number of troops and no heavy artillery support, we and Division Commander Long held out for two hours before we were forced to retreat."

"After we left the battlefield, we rested for a day in Qi County. Division Commander Long wanted to fight back, but before he could gather his troops, he was detained by the military police!"

Wang Feng: "You mean, Long Muhan just came out of the Japanese encirclement, replenished his forces, and is about to fight back again?"

Colonel: “Yes!”

Wang Feng sighed: "He is quite a man!"

"This hat of "deserting the battlefield" really shouldn't be put on his head!"

The colonel nodded and said, "We have fought side by side with the 88th Division. All the soldiers in their division are great!"

"When defending Shanghai, the 524th Regiment belonged to their division."

Hearing this, Wang Feng frowned. The 524th Regiment?
"Are they the Eight Hundred Warriors from the Sihang Warehouse?"

The colonel responded, "Yes!"

"Captain Xie and I are from the same hometown!"

"After that, Commander Long was shot in Wuhan. Gui Yongqing was the nephew-in-law of Minister He and should have been the main culprit, but he was dismissed and investigated."

When talking about this, several officers couldn't help but shed tears.

They were all brothers who had fought side by side, but anyone with a heart of flesh and blood was unwilling to accept this fact.

Wang Feng took a deep breath.

When power overrides military law, the country's army is rotten to the core!
"Where are the remaining brothers of the 88th Division now?"

Colonel: "I heard from others that after Commander Long was shot, they all went to Wuhan."

Wang Feng frowned: "Did you go to Wuhan?"

If I go to Wuhan at this critical moment, I'm afraid there will be trouble.
The colonel was a little worried: "Sir, can you please not tell anyone else about what happened today?"

Chiang Kai-shek also knew that he was in the wrong when he executed Long Muhan, so he exercised extremely strict control over speech in the military. If anyone was found discussing something in private, the lightest punishment would be dismissal from office.

Now the entire 71st Army has been ordered to keep silent by Song Xilian.

The middle and lower-level officers were dissatisfied, but there was nothing they could do.

He had to be more cautious in combat, for fear of becoming the second Long Muhan.

"Okay, let's cross the river first. I'll give this to you first." Wang Feng glanced around and asked, "You guys are out of ammunition?"

When cleaning the battlefield, the soldiers picked up the bullet casings on the ground, wiped them clean on their uniforms, and put them in their pockets.

This is obvious, it is going to be taken back for reloading.

Lack of weapons and ammunition is a common problem in the National Army. Even the elite 71st Army cannot fight in a completely open battle.

You have to be frugal during normal training.

Colonel: "It's strange. I don't know what's going on. The promised ammunition supply has not arrived yet. I sent people to urge them several times, but the people at the logistics station kept making excuses."

Another legionary was indignant: "I guess there must be a traitor who embezzled the weapons and ammunition!"

"Don't talk nonsense without evidence." An officer stopped him.

Zhao Fangyuan nodded and whispered in his ear, "I just received news that after Chiang Kai-shek returned to Wuhan, he also took away the supplies that were originally in Zhengzhou and were prepared to replenish the front-line troops."

"A total of 42 carriages!"

Wang Feng was shocked.

It's really like cutting off the source of the trouble!

While asking Xue Yue to speed up the attack, he also transferred the ammunition supplies originally belonging to the Henan East Corps.

Only Chiang Kai-shek could do such a heartless thing.

"Do we have enough ammunition?"

Zhao Fangyuan: "It should be enough."

Wang Feng: "Pull out some of them to support our brother troops."

The ferry on the north bank of the Yellow River is of vital importance. From the three-dimensional map, there is a large Japanese army entrenched in the northwest direction.

The overall strength is not weak.

I remember that during the Battle of Taierzhuang, Tang Enbo's 110th Division attacked Hanzhuang but could not take it down no matter what. There was only one squadron of Japanese troops in the city, with no more than two or three hundred people.

He is now frightened by the fighting power of his friendly forces.

The troops that arrived at Lanfeng for support this time consisted of only seven infantry battalions. The manpower was extremely scarce and it was definitely impossible to dispatch troops for support.

Therefore, the difficult task of guarding the ferry had to be given to the 71st Army.

In order to ensure that everything goes smoothly, it is necessary to provide appropriate support to friendly forces.

When the colonel heard that there were supplies, he was overjoyed: "Thank you, sir!"

"On behalf of all the brothers in the regiment, I would like to thank Commander Wang!"

Wang Feng smiled and waved his hand: "No problem!"

"You just need to guard this ferry!"

After briefly explaining two things, Wang Feng led his troops to cross the river in a hurry.

The colonel looked out at the floating bridge over the river.

"Look! Isn't that a heavy artillery?" A lieutenant colonel pushed down the officer next to him and pointed at the convoy not far away. "Oh my god!"

"This caliber, could it be a fifteen-year-old heavy artillery?"

The lieutenant colonel was shocked: "Since leaving Nanjing, I have never seen heavy artillery of this caliber again."

"What's the fuss? What good stuff doesn't the garrison have?"

"Look at you, you're such a loser!"

Another officer joked with a smile.

"Commander, why did you specifically tell Commander Wang about Commander Long's matter just now?" The staff officer was a little hesitant. After thinking it over again and again, he couldn't help but ask.

"The people are already dead. Even if Commander Wang is very powerful, he can't help."

"Yes!"

"General Song has repeatedly ordered us not to discuss this matter in private, in case it gets leaked."

Several battalion commanders beside him had different opinions, and there was some worry in their voices.

The colonel sighed, "Well, I think Commander Wang is not a treacherous person. He was deeply touched by what I said just now and will not reveal us."

"Captain, you can't be so gullible!"

"When the 88th Division withdrew, our regiment followed behind. Although Commander Song saved us, no one can say for sure that the military court will come looking for us one day!"

The colonel put his hands behind his back and looked at the surging river in front of him.

"lies!"

"If it's really as you said, I'll say these words even more!"

"Captain Long died unjustly, but there are still so many brothers left in the 88th Division. What do you want them to do?"

"The Japanese invaders are approaching, Zhengzhou cannot be defended at all, the Battle of Wuhan will happen sooner or later!"

"Commander Wang's troops are the most elite troops at the moment. They will definitely go to defend Wuhan. Only he can rescue the brothers of the 88th Division!"

"We have already informed Captain Xie about this matter."

"The bullets on the front line are blind, and the people from the military court in the rear are pressing on. No one knows whether we can survive until tomorrow."

"Do some good things before you die, and consider it as accumulating merits."

At the end, the colonel lowered his head and spoke in a low voice.

The staff officer nodded helplessly.

It sounds a bit harsh, but it's reality.

Several battalion commanders and staff officers can talk behind closed doors without worrying about disrupting the morale of the troops.

"Does the higher-ups really want to wipe out the 88th Division?" the staff officer asked softly.

The colonel shook his head. “I don’t know, but after the death of Commander Long, they marched directly on the streets. You know what Wuhan is like now.”

Chiang Kai-shek set the tone in Wuhan and encouraged all citizens to join the fight.

This incident was also reported in the newspaper.

The current city of Wuhan is an armed "anti-Japanese machine". The old, the weak, women and children, anyone who can move, have been called upon.

At this time, soldiers took to the streets to protest, and the content of the protests revealed the darkest side of the national army.

I'm afraid that even without Chiang Kai-shek saying anything, He Yingqin would have cut off their chances of survival.

Who would have thought that the 88th Division fought in many places, including Songhu and Nanjing, but was not annihilated by the Japanese invaders, but died at the hands of their own people?
Sad!
The colonel turned around and said, "The supplies donated by our friendly forces have arrived. All battalions should speed up the construction of their positions and try to kill as many devils as possible before they die!"

All the officers said in unison: "Yes!"

--------

With the help of the floating bridge built in advance, the first column quickly reached the south bank of the Yellow River.

As soon as he got off the car, Wang Feng smelled a pungent smell of gunpowder.

There was a rumbling sound in the distance, and just by listening to the sound, you knew it was the Japanese's large-caliber heavy artillery.

"What's the situation on the front line now?" Wang Feng looked at Zhao Fangyuan, "Have you sent an inquiry message to the friendly forces?"

Zhao Fangyuan immediately said: "The Fifth Column is still holding on in the city, and the Japs are like crazy, desperately attacking Lanfeng."

Wang Feng: "Where are the friendly forces?"

Zhao Fangyuan: "Except for a division of the 71st Army that arrived in the suburbs of Lanfeng, the rest of the Henan East Corps was blocked outside the city. The nearest unit was nearly kilometers away."

Wang Feng frowned: "The Yudong Corps is at least eight times larger than the 14th Division. How did it end up like this?"

Zhao Fangyuan shrugged. "After the 42nd supply train was withdrawn to Wuhan, the Henan East Corps was short of ammunition and its offensive gradually slowed down. General Xue has already deployed all his reserves. The outcome of the battle will probably be decided today!"

Wang Feng: "That's true. The longer the time goes on, the weaker the Henan East Corps will be. If we can't annihilate the Doihara Division today, I'm afraid the offensive and defensive situation will change completely tomorrow."

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and checked the time - 13:45
"Time is running out! Let's get into the city first!"

"The headquarters and artillery positions are deployed together, two kilometers to the southeast!"

Zhao Fangyuan: “Yes!”

Wang Feng got into the jeep, ignoring the outside world for the time being, and switched his consciousness to the three-dimensional combat map.

Bring time into the Lanfeng City.

"boom--!"

A grenade hit the three-story building and huge smoke burst out from the window. Even though he was not at the scene, he could clearly feel the building shake violently.

This caliber is at least 105 mm.

Raising the perspective, Wang Feng saw the situation of the entire Lancheng.

Judging from the distribution of "green dots" and "red dots", the Japanese army has occupied half of the urban area and is expanding northward at a very fast speed.

Due to Gui Yongqing's temporary retreat, the 5th Column was already at a strategic disadvantage and the situation was extremely passive. In addition, the Japanese army had large-caliber heavy artillery as suppressive fire support.

It was not easy for Zhang Zizhong to lead his troops to hold out for so long.

"what?"

"what is this?"

From a bird's-eye view, a series of "red dots" were moving from the edge towards the Japanese positions at a very fast speed.

Zoom in.

It was a bomber formation.

"Airdropped supplies?" Wang Feng frowned and muttered to himself.

Unlike the usual ones, this time the bomber formation was flying very low and did not look like it was about to drop bombs.

It's more like an airdrop of supplies.

"No wonder." Wang Feng suddenly realized.

The Doihara Division was surrounded tightly by Xue Yue, and without a ferry, bulk supplies could not be transported in at all.

But the 14th Division is a reinforced mechanized division.